The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassiae) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in single and composite way on some physiological parameters of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Streptozotocin-diabetic rats were fed on diet mixed with cinnamon (5%) or barley (30%) alone or with a composite for eight weeks. The levels of blood-glucose and serum insulin, the activities of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the concentration of urea, uric acid, and creatinine were significantly increased in serum of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Activity of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased, while that of catalase (CAT) or glutathione-s-transferase (GST) was significantly decreased in liver of diabetic rats. Feeding the diabetic rats on diet mixed with cinnamon and/or barley could restore the changes of the measured parameters to their normal levels. The results indicated that the combination of barley and cinnamon, in addition to being hypoglycaemic, is effective in reducing oxidative stress in diabetes and consequently may alleviate liver damage and kidney malfunction caused by streptozotocin-induced diabetes.
Key words: Cinnamon, Barley, Diabetes, Streptozotocin, Rats.
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